3 Businesses that Rock Pinterest

Any company can create a business page on Pinterest, but it takes a savvy company to really get it right. In this post we’ll look at 3 very different businesses that have enviable Pinterest pages and what they’re doing to stand out amidst the piles of pins.

1. No gimmicks. Drake is not soliciting students to apply in any way on their boards. There is no board for “Admissions” or “Campus Gear.” Instead, they focus on topics that truly interest students, like sports, study abroad trips and cooking in your dorm. The boards and pins shared by Drake give a sense of a fun and inviting college community. (They use great content, instead of selling to sell!)

2. Lots of engagement. Drake has shared over 1,000 pins, and has more than 4,000 followers. It’s interesting to note that many other universities have the same number of pins or more, but have a much smaller following. This indicates that Drake is appealing to their audience in an organic way, through likes and repins.

3. Compelling images. We’ve all witnessed that cats and dogs are the real stars of social media sharing. How fitting that the Drake University mascot is a bulldog. Check out their aptly titled board, “Adorbs Bulldogs”. We’re pretty sure you’re going to want to share some of these right away!

1. Adaptation. GE has been around since 1892. It’s a very established company, hardly defined as sexy. But here they are on Pinterest with 25 boards, nearly 2,000 pins and a whopping 16,236 followers. Why? Because they’ve adapted to today’s marketing trends and invested in social media.

2. Appeal. When you visit GE’s Pinterest page, the first board you see is called “Badass Machines” (They said badass!) Hey, it made me look. There’s also a pretty cool board filled with intellectual quotes called “That’s Genius!,” but by far, my favorite is the “Hey Girl” board with some stellar nerd memes. Clearly GE gets that we’re here to have fun and be entertained.

3. Focus on inspiration. Who doesn’t love to be inspired? It’s a driving force to keep us inventing. GE’s Pinterest pages ooze inspiration and innovation right from the beginning in their page description – “Pinning things that inspire us to build, power, move and cure the world. Welcome to the official GE Pinterest page!”

Takeaways:

Social Media is part of the game. Get in the game.

Have some fun. No seriously. Have some fun. (Would you read your content?)

Think about your overall message and stay true to your brand with a twist of creativity.

Trulia is a real-estate listing/rental site. In just 7 years the company has grown to 4.5 million real estate and rental listings in the US. Part of the success is due to the company’s clever incorporation of social media throughout the user experience.

What’s cool about Trulia’s Pinterest Page:

1. Polished look. High quality images and the use of alliteration each board title make Trulia’s Pinterest page appear very regal. It spans all areas of home décor – including “Winning Wine Cellars,” “Terrific Theaters” and “Modest Mud Rooms.”

2. Contests worth winning. Anyone can give away an iPad, but giving away a month long internship with the Altman Brothers (stars of Million Dollar listing LA) is a whole new level, especially for aspiring agents. They advertise the contest on Pinterest and also make it easy to share from the contest page on their website.

3. Redirection. You will end up on Trulia’s website. See a home you love and click, suddenly you’re at a detailed listing page for a house on Steiner St. in San Francisco!

Takeaways:

Reflect your brand with your boards.

Give people something worth engaging over and possibly competing for.

Show them the way (to your website, that is).

Want to see more examples? Pinterest has created a number of case studies on businesses that are having success with Pinterest. This is a great resource if you’re looking for some creative inspiration.

Amanda, you have pulled up a good research on companies rocking pinterest. Drake University, General Electric and Trulia are perfect examples for companies who are taking great advantage of social media. Most of the companies are creating a facebook page or a twitter account, and most of the time linking their facebook and twitter account, writing 140 character, posting it on twitter and re-posting the exact same thing on facebook. I think that it is a common mistake, social media is more than opening an account. Businesses need to be committed and content should be less showcasing product, but more natural. The idea behind connecting through social media channel should be getting emotional response. Instead of jumping to every social media channel and having presence there by opening an account, businesses should evaluate which social platform would work for them the best at first place. Whether it is professional network they are after or visual content, or just staying in touch with potential customers on the go, social media could possibly be harmful to online reputation if not managed well.

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